I hate open offices. What software companies offer at least cubicles?
We have actual offices with doors at Silicon Labs in Austin.
Open offices are a dead end
81–90 of 307 posts
Re: Open offices are a dead end
#82Of all the places I have worked over the years, my preferred office layout so far is conference rooms. That is, each team has their own room. Open within, closed to noise from other teams. Depending on how well you get along with your teammates, you can turn on some music, decorate however you like, etc. Of course it won't work for everyone, or for every type of job, but as a developer it is the arrangement that I enjoyed the most. And anecdotally, my coworkers also seemed to prefer it to either open space or cubicles.
Re: Open offices are a dead end
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
> you guys who listen to music all the time, i don't get it, i can't do that Basically, it's just background noise to drown out other people. I don't listen to the music I really like when I'm working, I listen to quiet stuff that won't distract me; rather than what I most enjoy and on which I would want to focus.
I do use background noise like rainy mood when I want to so I get that. But songs with words or that go too fast for my liking, can't do it.
I tend to pick an album and leave it on repeat for weeks / months. After a few days, you have all the words memorized and it acts as a pacing device as much as anything.
Part of it is probably that I tend to listen to music with actual lyrics instead of catchy pop songs. It's just a big long story that you've heard a thousand times. Comforting, but also easy to ignore.
Re: Open offices are a dead end
#84The best office layout is the office layout that fits the needs of the people working in it.
Open offices aren't a dead end. I work really well in open offices.
I can barely get any work done in a private office by myself. Yet there are many people who work well in private offices, and would be as non-productive in an open office as I am in a private office.
It's obvious that people have different work styles. The problem here isn't open offices OR private offices, it's people who look only at their own work style and then extrapolate that out to the entire rest of humanity.
The solution is to let people self-select the office situation that works for them. Ideally companies have a mix of open and private spaces that allow people to work in a way that's best for them, including the option to work remotely, but that's not always possible. Sometimes that means that someone isn't a good fit for a team, and should be self-aware enough to self-select to not work on that team.
Re: Open offices are a dead end
#85If I could craft the perfect job for me, the one I work at would be it - an intelligent straightforward manager who will speak his mind bluntly and can take it just as well as he can dish it out. He’s mostly concerned with results not whether you kiss his ring. - small company without a lot of bureaucracy -- I have full access to our entire AWS infrastructure - relatively generous PTO - a decent free family health pl…
Do you own noise cancelling headphones? Mine are worth their weight in gold to me (Sony W-something 1000x Mk2).
I can't do 'em, because of the constant pressure in my ears when I have them on.
Re: Open offices are a dead end
#86If I could craft the perfect job for me, the one I work at would be it - an intelligent straightforward manager who will speak his mind bluntly and can take it just as well as he can dish it out. He’s mostly concerned with results not whether you kiss his ring. - small company without a lot of bureaucracy -- I have full access to our entire AWS infrastructure - relatively generous PTO - a decent free family health pl…
Please be mindful of the pronouns you use in hypotheticals like these. Your intelligent straightforward manager may not use he/him.
I don't think that a hypothetical person will object.
Re: Open offices are a dead end
#87If I could craft the perfect job for me, the one I work at would be it - an intelligent straightforward manager who will speak his mind bluntly and can take it just as well as he can dish it out. He’s mostly concerned with results not whether you kiss his ring. - small company without a lot of bureaucracy -- I have full access to our entire AWS infrastructure - relatively generous PTO - a decent free family health pl…
> Pay is line with the market Presumably pay should / can be lower in a place where you actually want to work for than in a shitty work environment? > up to date with technology and great chances for resume building. What do you mean "up to date with technology"? IMO most "recent" technology is mostly hype and/or vaporware, and as I get more experienced, I see more and more value in old, reliable, well-supported tech…
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Re: Open offices are a dead end
#88I hate open offices. What software companies offer at least cubicles?
I work for a no-name company in the midwest. Have my own office with a door. Pretty nice.
Re: Open offices are a dead end
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you own noise cancelling headphones? Mine are worth their weight in gold to me (Sony W-something 1000x Mk2).
Yes, maybe mine aren't the best, but the only way to drown out noise with them is by playing white noise and eventually that gets irritating. I'm also (overly?) concerned with the long term hearing affects of using them.
get the newest Sonys. in terms of audio, nothing beats them atm. - some well invested 300 bucks IMO.
Re: Open offices are a dead end
#90If I could craft the perfect job for me, the one I work at would be it - an intelligent straightforward manager who will speak his mind bluntly and can take it just as well as he can dish it out. He’s mostly concerned with results not whether you kiss his ring. - small company without a lot of bureaucracy -- I have full access to our entire AWS infrastructure - relatively generous PTO - a decent free family health pl…
> - up to date with technology and great chances for resume building.
Resume driver development is bad for the planet, you, for everything.
Java programmers still find jobs; COBOL programmers are still needed; FORTRAN is still alive, so I'd rather find something that will not go away in my lifetime than trying to keep up with trends.